In June, Catalonia had about 1,700 tons of pears in stock, well below the 7,400 tons reported in the same month last year. Based on official figures, we are talking about the lowest volume in stock since the 2016/17 season.
"These figures are a consequence of the 32% drop in the production recorded last year, but this year volumes will recover and be back in line with those of a normal year," said Joan Serentil, manager of Fruilar and president of the FEPEX Pear and Apple Committee.
"The harvest is coming to an end. Only the later varieties are left, but practically all the Lleida pears are already in cool storage, ready for their marketing campaign. The sector expects the production to increase by 31% over last year, and although at Fruilar we are recording a 7% drop in our Conference harvest compared to the estimate, it is certain that the harvest in Lleida will grow significantly compared to 2022," said the also director of the PDO Pera de Lleida.
"In the northern part of the province, we have been strongly affected by the drought, but, thanks to the intense thinning carried out by producers in their trees, they were able to irrigate with some normality, so, in general, they have obtained fruit of larger sizes than in previous campaigns. Thus, what was lost in terms of number of pieces has been gained in terms of their size, and in many cases, the final volumes have balanced out." The only issue has been the lack of a high relative humidity, which has resulted in less russeting in Conference pears, but there is still "great quality fruit" this season, said Joan Serentil.
"We hope that national supermarkets will appreciate our product as international buyers do"
The recovery of the pear production in Spain, led by Lleida, contrasts with the fall expected in France and, especially, with the 70% drop that Italy has unfortunately suffered in its harvest due to the weather conditions.
"This season we have already had many visits from Italian buyers and many of our pears have gone, and will go, to Italy; in fact, at this time, both purchases and prices are rising, even though they already started from high levels." According to the latest data from the agro-food prices observatory of the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Catalonian Government, in June, packed Conference pears already cost 1.72 Euro, the highest price recorded in the 2022/23 campaign. "In any case, it is important to remember that we have a very steady supply and, in addition to selling to the Italian market, we will continue to supply our local customers. We only hope that national supermarkets will appreciate our product as much as the international buyers."
Abate in Spain?
One of the most common pear varieties in Italy is the Abate, although according to Joan, the Conference pear, by far the most cultivated in Catalonia, is also highly appreciated in the Italian market, as is the good size of the fruit. "We also have to consider that Italy is buying pears in Spain to be able to supply its customers, especially the German market. This year, they are buying more Spanish pears because of the reduction in their harvest, but in general, year after year, we see a certain drop in the country's Abate production. That is why, for the last 3-4 years, we have been getting more and more inquiries from Italian companies and investors about the possibility of starting Abate plantations in our country," said Joan Serentil.
